1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors and contacts and, in particular, to a connector for releasably attaching an electroluminescent lamp to a printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electroluminescent (EL) lamps are widely used in applications in which a lamp is connected to a printed circuit board (PCB). In particular, EL lamps are utilized in a wide variety of electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and navigation units, for backlighting displays and keypads and for displaying information. An electroluminescent (EL) lamp typically has first and second outer, conductive layers. A dielectric layer is sandwiched between the two conductive layers. The dielectric layer conventionally includes an electroluminescent powder or, alternatively, an electroluminescent powder is positioned adjacent the dielectric layer. Application of an electric field across the two conductive outer layers causes the electroluminescent powder, which may be a phosphorous powder, to illuminate, thereby providing a lamp.
A wide variety of connectors are currently used for connecting an EL lamp to a printed circuit board. A continuing problem, however, is the inability to provide such a connection that is reliable, easy and cost effective to implement.